


Home Hunting

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [39]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Outsiders (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Bat Family, Blüdhaven, Family, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, No Romance, No Smut, One Shot, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 10:24:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15459267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: For all the different places Cassandra had lived, she’d never actually had to go apartment hunting before. She’d either crashed with a friend or family member, moved from one temporary dwelling to another, or her father or little brother set something up for her. So when she moved to Bludhaven, she didn’t exactly come with a long-term plan.Fortunately, her big brother had her covered.





	Home Hunting

For all the different places Cassandra had lived, she’d never actually had to go apartment hunting before. She’d either crashed with a friend or family member, moved from one temporary dwelling to another, or her father or little brother set something up for her. So when she moved to Bludhaven, she didn’t exactly come with a long-term plan. Tim had filled her in on how worried Alfred was, having the family do such dangerous work when they were often so far apart, and she’d immediately agreed that something needed to be done to put the kind man at ease. 

For Tim, that had meant moving Jason into his apartment and figuring out how Red Hood and Red Robin could be there to support one another without anyone having to sacrifice their standards. For Cassandra, that meant moving to Bludhaven to be able to back up Dick when needed and vice versa. For starters, she’d just moved in with her big brother. He was happy to have her and she’d crashed at his place enough times that she was perfectly comfortable there.

Comfortable as she was though, she wasn’t used to sharing a space with someone else for an extended period of time. Even when she’d temporarily moved to Bludhaven with Tim in the past, they hadn’t stayed together for long, despite how close they’d become. They backed each other up when needed and kept an eye on one another, and Cassandra would do the same with Dick. Still, she wanted her own space and Dick’s apartment had been purchased when he was alone. It was really only set up for one person to live there permanently. 

Dick was great about it, when Cassandra tried to explain. He made sure she knew she was welcome to stay as long as she needed, and welcome to return whenever she wanted, even if she had her own place. Then, he sat down to help her figure out what she wanted in a home all for herself.

He showed her several places that were available online. Talked her through floor plans and showed her how 3D tours worked. He also pulled out an old school map of Bludhaven, so she could decide whether the location worked for her nightlife or not. He explained the subways and bus system and showed her maps of those too. 

The plan was to find several possibilities, Dick explained, and then go look at each place in person in order to find one that ‘feels right’.

Dick had used a story called ‘Goldie Locks’ as a reference. Cassandra didn’t understand it. Instead of saying nevermind or just telling her what the point of the story was, Dick told her the entire fable, complete with separate character voices and some minor pantomime. It made her laugh. It also made her remember her first time in Bludhaven, when Dick had called the city Gotham’s ugly step-sister only to discover that his sister wasn’t familiar with Cinderella. He’d handled that incident the same way. 

Cassandra thought she might like this move. She might like staying in one place. She might like being closer to her family. She might like spending more time with her big brother. She might like calling one place home again. 

Which was how she ended up on the subway at eight-thirty in the morning, with her enthusiastic big brother beside her and the day ahead filled with appointments to view apartments. Dick had files on his phone for each one, with all of the main details saved for quick notes or comparisons.

After looking at a few of the apartments (her favorite part was when the superintendent, manager, or real estate agent left her and Dick to talk and look around) Cassandra understood what her brother meant by a place feeling right. Each one was perfectly habitable, but when Dick started asking her questions, she realized that wasn’t enough for a place she was meant to live in for the foreseeable future.

“Is there enough space for you to practice dancing here? Come on, let’s give it a shot. Pretend there’s furniture.”

It turned out to be enough space. And Dick turned out to be a good ballet student. 

“Personally, I like my apartment being up higher. What about you?”

Cassandra decided that she did as well. 

“Is there enough space for you to work out in here? Or is there a gym nearby that’s up to your standards? Let’s go check it out.”

Cassandra decided she wasn’t big on gyms. Although she did agree to check out Dick’s. He had a way of making things more comfortable. 

“Okay, look around the room. Where is your sofa? Where is your bookshelf? Where is your dining table? Where is your ballet bar? Where is your gear stash? If you can’t picture yourself living here, comfortably, then it isn’t right for you.”

She wasn’t accustomed to using her imagination that way. After they worked on it, she started to be able to visualize some places as hers. Others not so much. 

“Ooh, a corner apartment. I like those. What do you think of ‘em?”

Cassandra decided that she liked them. One less neighbor to worry about.

“Is there enough room for everything you might want in your place? What if one of your friends come to visit? What if one our brothers are in town and you want him to stay over? What if you ask Tim to come help you with a case and he ends up researching here for a couple days?”

She thought of all the friends and family she had stayed with before, and how each of her brothers made sure she had her own space when she showed up at their place. She wanted to be able to do the same for her friends and family.

“This one gives more real estate to the kitchen, rather than the living room. Does that fit with your lifestyle? I know you like to eat but do you cook? Do you plan to start?”

Cassandra didn’t cook much. She had no intentions of starting. She was busy enough as it was.

“What do you think about the neighborhood? Are you going to be able to come and go comfortably? Are you going to be able to live among these people comfortably?”

That was definitely a point she needed to consider. She started paying as much attention to the people she passed on the way to the apartments as the apartments themselves. 

“Also worth considering is that this place is in the thirty minute or less delivery zone of three Chinese restaurants, a Japanese place, that barbecue place you like, two pizzerias, a Greek restaurant, and a great Mediterranean place. So that might make up for the half-sized refrigerator.”

That definitely made up for the small refrigerator. And she also decided they were going to check out the Mediterranean place Dick liked for dinner. 

“Remember, we can always repaint or change the flooring. But you’re stuck with the walls. Unless Dad decides to buy the building after you move in. He does that sort of thing sometimes.”

Cassandra hadn’t thought of that. She didn’t mind if their father tried to take care of her that way, as long as he didn’t infringe on her space. 

“Are you planning to drive after you move? Some of these places have better parking than others. And number four is near an area known to be frequented by thieves who strip cars. We can always take care of that though.”

Cassandra hated driving. She would stick to her bike and her feet. And maybe start taking the subway more. Dick certainly did well with it. 

“How many windows do you like? A lot or just a few? The third one we saw had a dozen windows and the last one only had two. I like windows. Especially in high buildings.”

That wasn’t a surprise. She knew how much her big brother loved heights. She didn’t necessarily need a lot of windows, but she discovered she liked having one or two at least. 

Overall, it had been a productive and informative day. 

Cassandra had worried at the start, that the day might be overwhelming with all the places they were checking out. It turned out to be fun. Her brother handled most of the talking with whomever was showing the place, and then she got to just explore her possible future home. They danced in every one, at Dick’s instance (he was becoming quite the ballet partner by the end) and she described where everything would go, with him making jokes and comments along the way as if he could actually see it all.

Dick had taken photos and notes. Cassandra made mental notes along the way. She took a day after their home hunting adventure to decide which she’d liked best. Dick reminded her that she could always stay with him and keep looking if none of them felt right. She appreciated the genuine offer, but had actually found a place she really liked that day. 

It was studio apartment with a small kitchenette, a full sized bathroom with a tub she could soak in after a rough night, and easy access to the roof of the building. It took up the whole floor, so she didn’t have to worry about immediate neighbors. She could come and go as Black Bat or Cassandra Cain-Wayne without any trouble. She had enough space inside to do whatever she pleased, but could also use the roof to dance, workout, or practice her fighting skills on nice evenings. There was enough space for guests if one of her friends or brothers came to stay for a while. There was plenty of concrete, wood, plumbing, and insulation between her and the apartment below that she didn’t have to worry about being overheard when practising or talking to anyone. 

Moreover, it _felt_ right. It felt like some place she could be comfortable in. It felt like a place she could call home. 

Dick was thrilled for her. As soon as she got the place, he took her to buy furniture. Harper, Stephanie, and Barbara came by to help her figure out how she wanted to decorate the place. Then each of her brothers came to town to help her get set up and settled down. They each congratulated her and told her the place looked great. That it looked like _her_.

Her father said the same when he came to see it afterwards. Naturally, Alfred checked the kitchen and made a few suggestions, but then he told her he was happy for her. He said he was happy she was going to be closer to her family. He told her he was proud of her. That had meant a lot. 

While she was visiting and helping Cassandra get settled, Harper decided that she was going to move to Bludhaven as well. She said the Bats and Birds had Gotham covered but it looked like Bludhaven could use an extra hero or two. Plus, there were plenty of opportunities for an electrical engineer there. She could make better money to support herself and her brother.

Cassandra was happy to have a friend close by. She and Dick helped Harper go through apartment listings just as they had for Cassandra. Then they made another day of checking out all the places Harper thought sounded good. She had her own standards and necessities, and Dick and Cass helped her consider each of them as they looked at the apartments. 

“Where would your workbench go?”

“Is there enough room for you _and_ your brother when he’s off of school?”

“Will you be able to come and go as you need to?”

“Does this place come with a garage or storage space?”

In the end, her friend found a place that was as right for her as Dick and Cassandra’s apartments were for them. 

Cassandra went to sleep in her apartment the morning after her first team up with Bluebird in Bludhaven. She’d seen Dick as Nightwing while she was patrolling as Black Bat as well. They made plans to meet for lunch later that day, just as brother and sister. Afterwards, she was meeting up with Harper to help her go through job wanted ads. Finally, Black Bat would be out again, defending Bludhaven the same way she’d started out in Gotham. 

First though, she would sleep, and then practice her dancing in the morning. She also wanted to work out a plan of sorts for the sword lessons she would start giving Damian. And she intended to ask Tim about a symbol she’d noticed on some stolen crates while out on patrol. He always had good intel and if he didn’t know something already, he always had a way of finding information. 

She smiled as she settled down to go to sleep. 

It had been a while since she’d stayed in one place long enough to call it home. It had been a while since she’d stayed close to her family. It had been a while since she’d been able to just spend time with a friend. She planned to do all of those things now. 

She really liked how the newest chapter in her life was starting out.


End file.
